Lion and Snake
by x.brianne.x
Summary: Julianne Michaelson enters her 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where she meets new friends and finds new enemies. Post-OoTP.
1. Grey Blue Eyes

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters, although I created Julianne Michaelson along with the creative efforts of a friend.

Chapter 1: Grey-Blue Eyes

Julianne Michaelson walked onto Platform 9 and 3/4 with her trunk, and her owl, Achilles and smiled. She stopped to think to herself as she shifted the weight of her guitar case. '_Finally, back home,_' she thought as she realized people were coming through the barrier to the platform and she had to get out of the way. She grinned as she realized it was Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley who appeared next to her.

"Hey Julianne," said Hermione as she walked towards the burgundy train. "Harry, help me with these trunks, would you?" she asked politely as Harry walked forward to help Hermione with the baggage. "How was your summer?" She asked Juli once they had loaded the trunks and stepped into the compartment.

"Boring, as usual," Juli replied, helping herself up into their compartment. "The people at the orphanage don't know the meaning of ventilation." Juli laughed and put her guitar case on the compartment shelf. "You don't mind me sitting with you, do you?" she said and smiled. Hermione shrugged and Juli sat down next to Harry.

"What about you three?" she asked as she opened the Chocolate Frog she had just bought off the trolley. "Did you guys do anything interesting over the summer?"

"I went to the States to visit some relatives," said Hermione. "I had loads of fun in New York, but they all talk so funny," she giggled. "Sometimes it's hard to understand them, when they _talk like this_," she added, attempting an American accent. Juli giggled with her as they ate more of their chocolates and candies.

"What about you two, then?" Juli asked, in between a bubble of Drooble's bubble gum. "Anything come to mind?" she added with a toying grin.

"Fred and George have been helping to train me for this year's Quidditch season," Ron said casually, gnawing on a Licorice Wand. "They even said they might get me a broom for my birthday, since they've made loads of money," he said. "If I don't screw up this season," he added, obviously thinking about his mistakes his first year on the team.

"Sounds like you had loads of fun this summer, flying around on your broomstick," Juli laughed nervously. "I bet Quidditch is loads of fun to play."

"What, you don't play Quidditch?" Ron asked, shocked as he dropped the box of jelly beans he was holding.

Juli laughed. "No, I've never had the chance to practice. What with being at a Muggle orphanage whenever I would have the time to learn," Juli stopped for a second. "Wait a second," she said with a smile. "You and Harry could teach me," she grinned at the look on Ron's face. "I'm sure you're both brilliant teachers, right Harry?" She looked up at Harry, who was looking at a small, dirty-looking square mirror. She gave a confused look to Hermione and Ron who just shrugged.

"Something wrong, Harry?" Hermione said softly, and Juli gave her a look as if she was about to ask the same thing.

"No, No," he answered. "I'm just ..." he paused as if he was having problems trying to find the right word to say. "Just sad." He looked up at Juli, who gave him a supportive, yet sympathetic look. "I've had a rough summer, is all." He looked at Juli with his vibrant green eyes for a moment before lowering them and took a deep breath, as if trying to keep from crying.

"A close friend of his died just before term ended," whispered Hermione. She looked as if she was about to cry herself. "We miss him too."

Juli was quiet for a minute before she spoke. "Was he your brother, Harry?" She asked slowly, fighting back her own tears. She remembered all too well her own brother's death; how Kevin had died 6 years earlier, just two months before she got her Hogwarts letter.

"Yeah, kind of," Harry said after a few moments of silence. "He was my godfather, my dad's best friend."

"Oh, God, Harry," she said softly, and as she took Harry's hand, Ron shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She saw Hermione look at Ron and nod towards the door; Juli made a mental note to thank her later for it. Ron and Hermione got up and left the compartment silently. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ..." Juli staggered, trying not to cry.

"No, Juli, its okay," As tears rolled down her cheeks he gave her a hug. "It was only just before summer holiday, I haven't had a whole lot of time to get over it," he said, swallowing the growing lump in his throat. He had this beautiful girl in his arms, and he wasn't about to show any vulnerability.

"I know how you feel," she said, pulling away from him slowly even though she didn't want to ever let go.

Harry felt a sudden burst of anger. How come everyone always said that? "No, Juli, I don't think you know how I feel. I was going to get away from the Dursley's, and get to know the man who was best friends with my father." He scooted away. "I don't think you know how I feel."

Juli felt a tear roll down her cheek as Harry spoke; as they did she wiped them away. "My older brother Kevin died almost two months before I got my Hogwarts letter. He was my best friend; the only real friend I ever had at the orphanage. I miss him loads, too." She smiled meekly and met Harry's eyes before deciding she'd done enough crying for one day. "So, yes, I think I do know how you feel, Harry," she added, a little cynically.

Harry gave Juli a blank stare, as if trying to comprehend what she had said. "Look, Juli, I'm sorry," he said slowly. "I just--"

"Yes, I know Harry," she said matter-of-factly. "I think everyone goes through the same thing after someone close to them passes on. It's hard. At least I've had time to move on." She sighed. "Oh, look at me," she said, sniffling as she tucked her hair neatly behind her ears, after realizing her mascara was running.

"I am," replied Harry reassuringly, as he looked into her deep grey-blue eyes and wiped the tear from her cheek. "And you're beautiful."


	2. Beginning of Term

Disclaimer: JKR owns all the original HP characters, and I only claim rights over Julianne Michaelson and Professor Lipton.

Chapter 2: Beginning of Term

Juli and Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table shortly after walking into the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

"Feels good to be home, doesn't it?" Juli said softly so only Harry could hear her. "I feel like I never left."

"Me too," he replied with a smile as Hermione and Ron joined them.

"Feeling better, then?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah," said Juli. "I think we've both recovered." She grinned and looked at Harry, who was smiling as well. They all quieted down as McGonagall and the first years flooded through the hall to be sorted.

"Do any of you know any first years this year?" Juli asked. "A girl from my orphanage was accepted this year. It's wicked to know there's going to be someone to talk to next summer," she laughed.

"No," said Ron. "All my family has already been sorted." He shrugged and turned to watch the Sorting.

"Me either," noted Hermione, and Harry shook his head. They were quiet as McGonagall slowly called every name on the list until "Zarriah, Polly" was sorted into Hufflepuff and Dumbledore took her place to give his beginning of term speech.

"Welcome," Dumbledore announced, his voice booming through the Great Hall, "To another year at Hogwarts. I'm sure you all have had a safe trip here." He cleared his throat. "I am pleased to announce we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor J. Lipton!" A tall, blonde woman stood up and smiled.

"Whoa," said Ron as his mouth stayed open. Hermione rolled her eyes and shut Ron's mouth.

"I've heard she graduated 4 years ago and left England to travel Europe." said Hermione. "She's supposedly very smart." Juli nodded in agreement.

"You think she's part Veela?" Ron said, not even paying attention to what Hermione had said with an excited, glazed look on his face. Juli laughed.

"Maybe she is, Ron," she said between giggles.

Dumbledore cleared his throat again to settle down the students. "I also have more good news. I am sure you all remember the Yule Ball we had in honor of our Champions two years ago." Juli was watching Dumbledore but out of the corner of her eye she saw Harry. He obviously hadn't forgotten what had happened that year. She didn't know how anyone could have forgotten. "This year, we will be holding a masquerade ball. More announcements will be made through your House Prefects. Now that I have made all major announcements, enjoy the feast!" Food popped up out of the tables, and everyone dug in.

"Oh wow, a masquerade ball!" Hermione said excitedly. "I've always wanted to attend one of those," she said, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Me too! Oh, I already have an idea of what I'm going to wear." Juli giggled. "Ooh, this is going to be so much fun!"

"Yeah," said Ron, rolling his eyes. "Going to be a blast."

"Oh, come on Ron," said Harry. "You only say that because at the last dance you had to wear those nasty old robes," he pointed out. "Besides, didn't Fred and George buy you new ones?"

"Yeah," Ron said painfully, eating a piece of pumpkin bread.

Everyone continued eating and enjoying their dinner until they had stuffed themselves. Hermione and Ron had to take the first years up to the dormitories, while Harry and Juli walked around the castle for a little while.

"Oh no," groaned Juli as she saw Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle turn the corner into the hallway they were walking down. "Which classrooms are down this hallway?" She asked hurriedly, wanting to avoid the Slytherins if at all possible.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Harry, turning around. "Yeah, we just passed it," he said, looking into the classrooms. "Let's say hello." He grabbed Juli's hand without thinking and they walked into to Professor Lipton's room.

.:-----:.

Juli and Harry walked into the classroom to find the new professor sitting at her desk silently, writing.

"Oh, hello," she said, removing her glasses as she noticed the pair had entered the room. She stood up and bowed her head, acknowledging them.

"Hello, Professor," said Juli. "I'm Julianne, and this is--"

"Harry Potter, no doubt," she finished, extending her hand to Harry. Her eyes flicked up to Harry's forehead. "It's quite a pleasure to meet you both," she said, shaking Juli's hand next.

"We just wanted to welcome you to Hogwarts," Juli said, smiling.

"Did you really travel Europe in four years?" Harry blurted out. Juli hit him in the arm. "What," he said, defending himself. "I just wanted to know!"

"Well, I suppose I should have guessed the school would be buzzing with rumors within 2 hours of my arrival," she smiled. "This school hasn't changed a bit since I left," she looked at Harry and smiled. "Ah, well; I did stay in Eastern Europe for a year, visiting family and friends, and I also toured France and Germany to study with some incredibly talented witches and wizards. Unfortunately, I mostly lounged about my mother's old house in Paris for most of those three years." She looked regretful. "It would be an interesting story to tell to my first students." She stopped and looked past Juli and Harry, who turned around as she did so.

"Why, hello, Professor, Harry, Juli," said Dumbledore. "I didn't expect to see you here," he added to Juli and Harry.

"We were just welcoming Professor Lipton to Hogwarts." Juli said, politely. "We're on our way out," she smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Professor," she said as she tugged on Harry's sleeve and walked out of the classroom. Harry nodded his head and walked out with her.

The pair had been walking through Hogwarts castle for some time until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Harry muttered the password and gestured for Juli to go through first. She smiled and walked in and Harry followed her.

"Brilliant!" Ron said, practically pouncing on them the moment they walked in. "Now you can tell us if it's true or not!"

"Is what true, Ron?" Harry said, confused. "We've only been walking around the castle."

"Yeah," Juli added. "What happened?"

"Is Lupin really here?" Hermione asked. "Is he back?"

Harry and Juli exchanged confused looks. "I don't think he's here," Harry said slowly. "We didn't see him, at least," Juli nodded in agreement. "Maybe you should try asking Dumbledore, he would know," he added. "He was in Lipton's room when we left it," he shrugged simply.

"Man," Ron said, disappointed that Lupin wouldn't be returning to teach. Then Harry's words caught up with him. "Lipton, the new Professor? The blonde?"

"Yes, Ron," Juli said, rolling her eyes. "We have her second period," she said, looking down at her schedule that she had pulled out of the pocket in her robes.

"Oh, I hadn't even bothered to look at our schedules," Hermione said, searching her pockets for a few seconds before finding it. "I was too busy worrying about the first years," she continued but Ron interrupted her with a groan.

"Oh, no," Ron said, obviously distraught, "We've got first class with the Slytherins."

"Oh, perfect." Juli said, rolling her eyes and walking towards the chairs in front of the fire. "That's exactly what I want to wake up to, Malfoy," she rubbed her arms, trying to warm up as she had gotten cold all of a sudden.

"I know," said Hermione. "At least it's with McGonagall," she said, plopping into a chair next to Juli.

"I'm not sure that's any better, Hermione," Ron said, sitting next to her.

"Me either," Harry said, sitting on a rug. He looked up at Juli, who was still rubbing her arms to try to stay warm. "You okay, Juli?" he asked with concern. "Are you cold or something?"

"Yeah, I don't know what it is. Maybe I just need to get a blanket," she said, standing up to go get one from her room. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Harry said, getting up and taking her seat, watching her figure run up the stairs.

She had only been gone a few moments when Harry, Ron and Hermione heard a scream coming from the girl's dormitories.

"Juli!" Harry yelled as he got up and ran towards the staircases. Ron and Hermione exchanged confused looks before they got up to try and catch him.


	3. Promises

Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry and all the other original Hogwarts characters. I only claim rights over Julianne and Professor Lipton.

Chapter 3: Promises

As the trio started to rush up the stairs, Hermione turned around and stopped Ron and Harry.

"What, Hermione!" Harry said, frantically. "C'mon! We've got to get up there to help Juli," he tried to get past Hermione. "What if she's hurt?" Harry was worried. What if something had happened to her? He had to go up to help her.

"You two can't get up these stairs, remember?" Hermione reminded them. "You'll just fall down again," she said, trying not to laugh out loud.

"I don't care!" said Harry, anxious to get to Juli. "We've got to get up there!"

"What, and fall down the stairs trying?" said Juli, who had walked out of the dorm room carrying a blanket. "That's one thing I'd like to see," she said, walking down the stairs as calmly as possible, forcing a smile. She held the blanket tight, and covered her shaking hands with it.

"Wait ... what? You --" stammered Harry. "You screamed and --"

"Yeah," Juli said, starting to blush. "I, er, walked into the room and, er... Dobby the House-Elf was, uh, cleaning. I didn't expect him to be there, and it startled me." Juli tucked her hair behind her ear, like she always did when she was nervous or embarrassed. "I'm sorry I got you so worried," she said as she walked past Harry towards the fire, still clutching the blanket.

Harry had a blank look on his face. Hermione stood there puzzled for a minute, then laughed quietly to herself and followed Juli. Ron shrugged and followed her as Neville and Dean Thomas walked through the portrait and sat down with them. Harry stood alone, thinking. '_There's something going on,_' he thought. _'Something isn't right,_' he wondered what had really happened, and then warily shrugged it off, and sat down on the floor next to Juli's chair.

They sat around the fire talking for half an hour or so before Seamus joined them, sitting across the group from Juli next to Ginny. She hadn't spoken to her ex-boyfriend since the end of term last year, and she secretly had hoped they would patch things up this year. Even as she thought to herself how rude it was of him to not speak to her, she found herself remembering how happy she was when she was with him; walking across the school grounds, talking. But he broke up with her, so he must have stopped loving her. As she realized this, she promised to herself that she was over him, too. For good.

Soon everyone was growing tired; they all had classes in the morning and had gotten up early to catch the train. The girls started to head up towards their dorms, but as Juli stepped onto the stairs someone called her name. She turned around and saw him. Seamus.

"Juli," said Seamus, softly, just like he had when he had first asked her out in their third year.

"Yes, Seamus?" she said, repeating to herself that she was over him. '_I don't love him anymore,_' she told herself.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," he said, now whispering to her.

"For what?" she said, stepping closer. She knew what he was going to say, so why did she ask?

"For letting you go, Juli," he said, regretfully. He moved closer to her and took her hand; for a moment she thought he might kiss her. '_I don't love him anymore. I don't love him anymore._' she repeated in her mind. She pulled her hand away nervously.

"No, Seamus," she said. "No. We're not together anymore." She tried to stay calm, trying not to cry. She felt herself falling for him again, here in the dark, seeing him smile at her again. He was waiting again, almost patiently; his smile was so ... no. She couldn't. "I don't love you anymore," she said softly, almost as if she didn't want to admit it to anyone other than herself.

He looked down, and took her hand, as if he was going to plead with her. But she knew he wouldn't. He knew better.

"It's alright," she said truthfully. "I'll be alright," she smiled. "Don't worry about me."

"But you know I'm going to anyway," he said, softly. He wanted to kiss her, and if she was truthful with herself, she almost wanted to let him. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before heading back towards the stairs, climbing them slowly.

"Just promise me you'll be good, okay?" she said, smiling as she looked back at him from the top of the stairs. He smiled back at her and nodded. As he walked back towards the boy's staircase, she felt a lump rise in her throat as she quickly turned and opened the door. Almost running to the her dorm room she pushed through Parvati and Lavender's nervous giggles and questions to the bathroom where she slammed the door and slid down the door, head in hands as the tears rolled down her face.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered quietly to herself as she stood up and walked over to the sink. She looked at herself in the mirror; her eyes were all red, and her mascara was running down her cheeks again. "Oh, bloody hell," she said, shutting off the light and finding her way blindly to bed, but not before she bumped into someone.

"Ow, watch where you're going, Juli," the girl said, and Juli recognized her voice instantly.

"Not now, Parvati," she groaned, sniffling. "Go to bed, already."

"Fine, fine," she said huffily and walked into the bathroom.

Juli jumped onto her bed and pulled the covers over her head, wondering what she was going to do about her classes tomorrow. The last thought she had before she falling asleep was of Harry, and his sparkling green eyes.


	4. Insulted

Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry and all the other original Hogwarts characters. I only claim rights over Julianne and Professor Lipton.

Chapter 4: Insulted

Juli was the last of the four to arrive at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall the next morning. She hadn't slept very well, because every time she fell asleep she had the same nightmare. She had been watching Harry duel someone, although she couldn't see who, and he always fell down, clutching his head, screaming, and then she woke up. It was the same every time she fell back asleep, and she couldn't do anything about it. She had no idea what it meant or what it could mean, but she knew for sure that it wasn't good.

"Good morning," she said as she sat down at the table next to Hermione and started eating. Harry and Ron were too busy talking about Quidditch to notice, but Hermione smiled. "Sorry I'm a bit late," Juli said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said when she had finished swallowing. "You had a rough night."

"Hermione," she began. "Do you think I'm being really horrible about this, or should I make up with him and just go back to being normal?"

"I'm not really sure," Hermione said, putting down her fork and wiping her mouth. "I don't really know how you feel about Seamus," Hermione moved closer to whisper into Juli's ear. "But I'm sure a certain someone," she nodded in Harry's direction, "would be happy to help you get over him."

Juli almost choked on her food and looked at Hermione, aghast. "_What_ did you just say?" she nearly yelled, her eyes wide and her mouth open in shock. Hermione nodded and Juli started laughing, almost in horror. "You did not say what I think you said!" Hermione nodded again and picked up a muffin, biting into it and shrugged.

"What did she say?" asked Ron, suddenly interested.

"Nothing, I, er ... I need to talk to McGonagall about something before class, so I'm going to go see if I can catch her now," Juli grabbed a glass of juice and a bagel as she stood up and grabbed her books. "I'll, um, see you in class," she said hurriedly as she turned around and half-smiled to the trio, then began walking away.

"I better make sure Juli's alright," she smiled and waved goodbye to Harry and Ron, who exchanged confused looks and continued eating.

.:-----:.

"Remember yesterday when he wanted to save you like you were a damsel in distress? He fancies you!"

"Oh, Hermione, I wish you would have said something because, oh, there's something I have to tell ---" Hermione nudged Juli in the arm to quiet her as Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle walked into the classroom.

"Well well, look who's here," said Malfoy, looking between Juli and Hermione. "Michaelson and Granger. The Mudbloods' Dream Team."

"Damn, Hermione," said Juli, not taking her eyes off Malfoy. "You'd think he could come up with a new insult after six years," she finished the last sentence without moving an inch.

"Don't talk back to me, Mudblood," said Malfoy, looking straight at Juli. Hermione stood up and looked as if she was about to murder him right there on the spot. Juli stood up next to her and pushed her to sit back down.

"The only one with dirty blood here is you, Malfoy," Juli said, getting a little angry. "Your father is the one locked up in Azkaban, isn't he? I'll bet it runs in the family," she said, trying to calm herself down. She wasn't going to get mad over this stupid little boy. He was a Slytherin, after all, and not worth getting worked up over.

"Don't you talk about my father, or I'll --"

"You'll what, Malfoy," said Harry's voice, coming from the back of the room. Harry and Ron walked towards Juli and Malfoy, pushing through the rest of the crowd that had gathered around them.

"Oh, look, Michaelson, here's Potty to come and save you," Malfoy said mockingly. He stepped closer to Juli and hissed, "Next time you'd better not count on someone coming to save you."

"What makes you think I need saving?" Juli hissed back as she stepped back to sit down again. Why was she so worked up? Over Malfoy nonetheless! His insults were nothing new.

"Ugh," she complained to Hermione. "I wish he would just shut up and go back to his mommy. I'm so sick of him."

"He seems sick of you, too, to tell you the truth," said Hermione, pointing over to where Malfoy and his two thugs had sat. "You really got him worked up," she said, applauding Juli lightly. "It's about time someone put him in his place."

"I wonder what she said to him," Ron asked Harry as McGonagall walked into the classroom.

Juli turned around to face him and Harry, and she could feel her face was still red-hot with anger. "Basically I told him off after he called us Mudbloods," she said pointing to herself and Hermione. "And then I told him he was scum like his father," she finished. She shrugged her shoulders at Ron's shocked reaction. "He deserves it," she said as she turned to glare at Malfoy and then faced forward as McGonagall began the lesson.

"I think you're rubbing off on her a bit, mate," muttered Ron as he opened his book. "Only wish I could have beaten him. Oh, I wish she would have hit him. Coming from her its worse, you know, 'cause she's a girl," he nodded.

"Yeah," said Harry, sounding dazed and impressed; in front of them, Juli grinned. '_Maybe he does like me..._' she thought but shook the thought out of her mind and listened to McGonagall.

Not too long after McGonagall had explained the spell they would be performing, she explained to them they would be working with a partner. Juli turned to Hermione and Hermione nodded in agreement.

'_Of course they'll be partners,_' thought Harry who had been hoping to work with Juli.

"However," added McGonagall, "I will be the one to pair you up. Do not move until all names have been called. Now," she paused to look at the class list while the class groaned. "Miss Granger, you'll be working with Mr. Thomas," Hermione gathered her books to get ready to move, giving Juli an apologetic look. "Mr. Weasley and Miss Brown, Mr. Goyle and Miss Parkinson," McGonagall called, pairing up more people. Juli listened intently, hoping to be paired with Harry. Soon the number of Gryffindors was dwindling, and Harry was paired up with Parvati. She looked at Seamus, who hadn't been paired up with anyone yet, and she smiled at him. Maybe they'd be paired up.

"Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Finnegan," she called and Juli looked around the room. There weren't any more Gryffindors to be paired up with. It looked as if though she'd be working by herself.

'_I'd probably get done faster working by myself anyway,_' Juli thought as the Professor looked up at her. It was an almost sympathetic look, and Juli wondered why. She looked around the room and then realized that someone else hadn't been paired up with anyone either. Juli slumped in her seat and put her head down on the desk on top of her arms, realizing why the Professor had looked at her that way. Juli carefully lifted her head up, knowing what was coming next.

"Miss Michaelson, you'll be working with Mr. Malfoy."

.:-----:.

Juli sighed heavily and put her head to her palm, but before she got up to move she heard a thud on one of the desks. Malfoy had stood up and his fist had hit the desk. Hard.

"Professor," he said angrily, but clearly trying to keep his composure. "Why do I have to work with her? Everyone else is working with someone from their own house," he added. He was not happy with this partnership, and neither was Juli. For once she agreed with everything that had come out of Malfoy's mouth. McGonagall looked at Juli and then at Malfoy again and motioned for the two of them to approach her desk. The rest of the class quietly got to work, pretending to not be listening in on their conversation.

"Mr. Malfoy, I assure you," McGonagall said sternly. "Miss Michaelson will not give you cooties. If you hadn't noticed, there are an odd number of students in each house, therefore leaving one pair to be from both houses."

"Arithmetic is not his best subject, Professor," Juli said, suppressing a laugh.

"But Professor," he said again, still angry and yet trying not to sound desperate. "I can't work with her, she's ---" he shot Juli a mean look and she glared right back at him. It was one thing to not like each other, but to try and make it seem like she was some sort of speck on the ground made her hate him even more.

"If you mean because she is a girl and not of your house," the Professor interrupted, "You'll just have to work that out because I see no problem with this arrangement. Now, you two best start working, you've already wasted five minutes of your working time. You may be two of my best students, but I will not excuse you from this assignment." She sat back down and put her glasses on, indicating that the conversation was over. Malfoy glared at Juli again.

"You'd better not expect me to move," he said as he walked back to his desk and sat down, starting on the assignment. Juli rubbed her forehead as she walked back to her desk to pick up her bag. Dean Thomas was sitting in her seat and moved over to let Juli grab her things.

"Sorry, Juli," he said sympathetically, and patted her on the shoulder. "It's just one class, you can do it. It'll be okay," he said, smiling.

"Yeah, thanks Dean," Juli said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and slowly walking towards Malfoy's desk. "Let's just get this done," she said quietly, trying not to explode.

"Ooh," Malfoy said scathingly. "A bit upset, are you?"

"Just shut it, Malfoy. I don't want to hear it," Juli said irritably, and turned to start reading the assignment.

They divided up the work evenly and the rest of the class went almost pleasantly. Juli had to admit that even though she couldn't stand him, Draco was actually a good student. They finished early and as she was packing her things together Professor McGonagall spoke up again.

"Oh yes, there is one other thing I must mention," she said, walking back to her desk. "The partner you worked with today is going to be the person that you are going to be required to work with all year." The Professor looked back down at the paperwork on her desk, as if what she had said was harmless information.

The rest of Juli's classmates smiled and began chatting with their partners again, but Juli almost dropped her large book onto the floor with a big bang. Her jaw dropped and she looked at Malfoy, expecting him to be just as upset as she was but, surprisingly she saw no change in his facial expression at all. Not interested in a fight, Juli stood up and started walking back towards her friends. She was furious about the fact that she had to work with Malfoy and deal with his insults all year and was about to talk to Harry about it when she was grabbed harshly by her arm.

It was Malfoy, who had stood up and followed her. He didn't seem happy with McGonagall's announcement either. "Listen, Michaelson," he said in is usual snobby, nasty tone. "I'm going to need your help this year, so you'd better do whatever I tell you to," He was still holding onto her arm, and he was a lot stronger than she thought he was.

"No, Malfoy," she said, stepping closer to him. "You'd better not go around insult me and any of my friends if you expect any help from me at all in this class." She pulled her arm away and stormed off, fuming. She approached the other side of the classroom where Ron and Harry were waiting for Hermione. She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, glad that the class was over.

"D'you finish?" asked Ron. "Lavender and I only have a few things to touch up with that tadpole."

"Yeah, but we each did half the work," Juli rolled her eyes. "Good thing my best subject is Transfiguration, otherwise I would've been in trouble." She sighed. "And now I have to work with him all year."

"Er," said Ron as Hermione walked past them, still chatting with Dean, without saying hello. "I guess we'd better get going. Lipton's class is in 15 minutes."

"Right," said Juli, who was eager to get out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting in Professor Lipton's room. The Professor had been sitting on her desk, greeting all the students as they walked in.

"Hello Harry, Julianne," she said. "Nice to see you again," she smiled. "Who are you friends?"

"Please, you can call me Juli," Juli answered. "This is Ron Weasley," she smiled back at the Professor.

"Well, hello Ron," she said, shaking his hand as he blushed profusely. "Please have a seat wherever you'd like." The three of them settled down in two desks near the front, where Hermione was already sitting and Juli noticed Harry and Ron exchange looks before Ron sat next to Hermione. She smiled at Juli and winked. Juli couldn't help but grin, even if she was still in a foul mood from Malfoy.

"Right then," said Lipton, jumping off of her desk. "Hello again, everyone. My name is Professor Lipton, although you may call me Professor Jen or Miss Lipton if you wish," she smiled. Juli hadn't remembered any of their previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers being so informal. In fact, she couldn't remember any of her teachers being this informal. "Before we begin---"

"Excuse me, Miss Lipton," said a voice from the back of the room. Everyone turned around and saw Dobby the house-elf, who looked very strange. He had on large mismatched socks and about eight hats. "Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak to Julianne Michaelson."


	5. Some Unexpexted News

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters, although I created Julianne Michaelson and any other characters not part of the original Harry Potter 'cast'.

Chapter 5: Some Unexpected News

Juli looked nervously from Harry to Ron to Hermione and then back to Harry, confused. She had no reason to speak to Dumbledore; she hadn't even spoken to him personally since the middle of her first year when she had been upset over the death of her brother. Professor Lipton walked over to Dobby the house-elf and began talking with him.

"What could Dumbledore want to talk to me for?" she said, a little nervous.

"I don't know," said Harry. "I'm sure it's nothing serious though."

"But he's never called you down in the middle of class, has he? I mean, we have a free period the hour after next, so it could have waited," Juli replied nervously. "What if it's something about my O.W.L.s? Or something's happened at the orphanage or ---"

"Juli, it'll be alright," Harry said, and took her hand. "Nothing serious has happened, everything is going to be okay," he told her firmly, and smiled. "Just go and don't worry about anything. It's going to be alright," he said, and she smiled. He just had a way of making her see the light.

"Alright Juli," said the Professor as she stood from where she was squatting next to Dobby. "You can go, but you'll have to answer a question about yourself first," Lipton said, walking towards the front of her class.

"So, if I refuse to answer, do I get to stay?" Juli said, half-joking. She really would rather stay and just relax here with Harry, but was also a little anxious to find out what Dumbledore had to say.

"Well," Lipton said, grinning. "I'm sure the Headmaster would find some other way to get you to his office if he really wished to speak to you, but I'm going to ask you a question anyway," Juli nodded. She wasn't the type to oppose authority.

"What's your favorite color, and why?" asked Lipton as she sat down on top of her desk again. That seemed to be her favorite place to sit.

"Well, er," Juli said. This was a fairly easy question; green. But how could she explain the reason? She'd just have to make something up. "Green, definitely," she paused for a moment, trying to come up with a decent explanation. "I love the summertime, and green just always reminds me of it," Juli said, smiling as she let go of Harry's hand under the table and grabbed her things. She looked up at him and winked before standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Thanks, Juli," said the Professor before nodding her head, indicating Juli was dismissed. She squeezed Harry's hand one last time and smiled at him, then followed Dobby out of the room.

.:-----:.

"Er, Dobby?" asked Juli tentatively after they had been walking in silence for a few minutes. "Do you know why Professor Dumbledore wants to see me?"

"Yes, Dobby knows," he said. "But Dobby will not tell. Miss Julianne will find out soon." Dobby stopped in front of a large gargoyle which was guarding the door to Dumbledore's office. Juli recognized it, having been here once before.

"Fizzing Whizbee," he announced, and the gargoyle jumped aside, opening the doorway. "Dobby will see Miss Julianne later, good bye!" Dobby said, almost squeaking, before leaving Juli alone to go up the stairway alone. She climbed the long spiral staircase until she came up to a large wooden door with a brass knocker on it. She heard Dumbledore's voice and two other indistinct voices and knocked on the door, hoping she wasn't disrupting anything.

"Hello, Juli," said Dumbledore a few moments later, as he opened the door. "Please have a seat," he said as he closed the door behind Juli. She took a seat in one of the large cushioned seats. Next to her was a younger dark-haired dark-skinned Hufflepuff boy who very much reminded her of Lee Jordan, one of the Fred and George Weasley's friends. Next to him was the unmistakable Cho Chang, a 7th year Ravenclaw Prefect. '_I can't be in trouble if the two of them are here,_' Juli thought to herself gave a sigh of relief. '_But that boy is too young for O.W.L.'s,_' she thought, puzzled.

"Peter, Cho, this is Julianne Michaelson. Juli, this is Peter Jordan and Cho Chang," Dumbledore said, from his desk. Juli nodded to both of them and smiled. "We're just waiting for one more, then," he said as a knock rang through the room. "And I believe this would be him," he said, opening the door.

"Welcome, Draco, please have a seat," Juli spun around, and there he was, Draco Malfoy. She was determined not to get upset over him, he wasn't worth it. Especially since she wasn't in any trouble. '_What am I thinking? This is Malfoy I'm talking about. He deserves any grief he ever gets himself into,_' she thought to herself. She watched him silently sit down in the only empty chair next to her. She was surprised that he didn't have any insults ready. He must have been just as shocked as Juli was.

"Now that you're all here, I have something to tell you," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "As you know, we held the Yule Ball two years ago as a part of the Triwizard Tournament. We had the Weird Sister's perform, if I remember correctly." He smiled. Juli didn't know what was going on. Why was he telling us this? '_It probably has to do with the Masquerade Ball,_' Juli thought to herself, trying to piece the puzzle together.

"This year, the Masquerade Ball will be held around the Christmas holidays, and our musical guest will be the four of you, in our very own Hogwarts band." Juli felt her jaw drop and covered her gaping mouth with her hands.

"A Hogwarts band?" asked Peter, whose curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"One moment, Mr. Jordan, I'm not quite finished," said Dumbledore, raising his hand to silence the young Hufflepuff. "The four of you are the best musicians in the school for your instrument," he continued. "Cho will be our keyboardist, Peter the drummer, Juli the guitarist and Draco the bassist."

'_Guitarist? Lead Guitarist? Oh my… oh my,_' Juli thought to herself. She had to restrain herself from jumping up and running around Dumbledore's office. She looked over at Cho who seemed quite excited herself. The two girls grinned, and then looked back up at Dumbledore as he continued.

"The four of you will have to schedule rehearsals once a week, and also come up with the name of our band. We can't go around calling you the 'Band from Hogwarts' now, can we?" He smiled. "I will expect nothing but the best from you and you will be exempt from homework once a week in order to rehearse. I've already spoken with your teachers about this, and they all have agreed. So, do you have any questions?" he looked at them, as if expecting questions.

"Professor," Juli said before anyone could open their mouths. "How are we going set up the amps?" Juli asked as Draco snickered.

"You didn't think we'd actually use Muggle amps, did you?"

"Obviously not. The electricity won't power them here," Juli snapped. Cho and Peter were silent, and Juli figured that they were simply stunned by their sudden argument, but Dumbledore silently (and definitely not angrily) rose to his feet.

"Draco, please, I'll answer the questions," he said, surprisingly calm, and then he turned to Juli. "You're right; the electric amplifiers won't work inside this castle. However, we have special sets that will work here, everything has already been arranged. Anything else?" he said, and then sat back down.

"Er, Professor," asked Peter, who, to Juli, seemed quite shy. "You said we're going to be a band, so who's going to be singing?"

"You four will have to figure that out, because for now, I'm leaving you to decide. Now I'll show you the room where you'll be practicing, away from the rest of the school." He walked around his desk as the four students stood up from their seats and followed him out of the room.

.:-----:.

Dumbledore led the students as the group walked down to one of the roomier dungeons. He walked up to the door and took out a key, unlocking the door. As they walked in, Juli looked around for a few seconds and then clasped her hands over her mouth. She quickly stepped to examine two brand new scarlet and gold guitars; an electric and an acoustic. '_Oh, my,_' she thought to herself, picking it up carefully. Next to the new guitar was a green and silver bass, and a similar electric guitar which Malfoy stepped up to and picked up.

"Is it mine?" Juli was stunned. She didn't even bother looking up at Dumbledore.

"Yes, Juli," Dumbledore said, smiling. "It's yours. They're all yours."

Juli looked up him, shocked, yet pleasantly surprised. She looked over at her band-mates, all in awe, even Malfoy. Juli had been expecting him to not want to touch anything Dumbledore had given him. He was, however, just as happy as Juli was for new guitars. Cho's fingers were gliding over her new keyboard, with blue and bronze colored keys; Peter was spinning his black and yellow drumsticks, obviously ready to start pounding on his new drum set.

"This and the three rooms adjacent to it are spelled to keep in all sound. They're soundproof, you might say. This way you can practice without disturbing other classes or the Slytherin dormitories. The instruments are to be left here, where they will be safe until the night of the ball. Then, you are free to take them with you back up to your dormitories," Dumbledore said, and then paused, as if contemplating his next thought as the students looked up from their new instruments to listen to his instruction.

"Each of you will have a key to this room, where you can enter it whenever you have free time. The only ones with copies of this key are your Head of Houses and I, in case you do lose it," he looked over at Peter and Peter blushed instantly. He probably had a habit of losing things.

"I will not tell you that you cannot eat down here or come here to get some quiet studying or practicing done. However," he said, looking at the four students who were trying to pay attention but were being slightly distracted by their newest possessions. "You may not invite another student down here, as it is also a private space for the rest of your band-mates," he looked at Juli who could feel his eyes on her, and blushed. "The only other rule is that you are allowed to come here after curfew, but you must be back to your dormitories by midnight." All four students looked up at him and grinned. An extra hour than all of the other students.

"Here are your keys," he handed them each a small brass key, each with their name engraved on the side of the key. "I am leaving you for now," he smiled at each of them and then walked towards the door. "But please, do not forget your next lesson, in half an hour. Good day," Juli grinned as he walked out and bent over her guitar again. Juli looked at it and slowly ran her finger across the golden strings.

After a few moments of silence, Cho spoke. "So, what are we going to call ourselves? I haven't got any ideas," she shrugged.

"I don't either," said Juli. "I haven't a clue as to where to begin," she said truthfully.

"You never do," said Malfoy's cold voice.

"Oh, and like you have any ideas," Juli said back to him. She was going to have to be stuck with him for a while, and she didn't know if she was going to be able to handle it!

"As a matter of fact, I do."


	6. Veritaserum

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters, although I created Julianne Michaelson and any other characters not part of the original Harry Potter 'cast'.

Author's Note: The song in this chapter is called "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson from her CD "Thankful."

Chapter 6: Veritaserum

"I meant good ideas, Malfoy," Juli retorted, glaring at him. For a moment, Juli felt like she was back at the orphanage, arguing with her brother. 'Although he was much easier to argue with,' Juli thought. 'Give him the puppy dog face and he would melt like chocolate out in the sun.'

"Will you give it a rest?" said Cho, impatiently, stepping between them. She turned to Juli and said, "Is he always this difficult?"

"Yes!"

"I am not! Only around the Mudblood," he said and Cho spun around to glare at him.

"You may think you're all high and mighty, Malfoy, but you won't go around insulting Juli while I'm here," she almost yelled. Even Peter had stood up from his seat behind his drum set.

"Oh, don't worry, Cho," said Juli, growing impatient. "Coming from the spoiled little rich boy it means nothing," she glared at him over Cho's shoulder.

"ALRIGHT!" yelled Cho, who looked as if she was about to blow up. "As long as we're here in this room rehearsing, neither of you are to insult each other. If you do, I'm telling Dumbledore that I can't do this and the whole thing will be off," she looked from Malfoy to Juli, expecting another smart-aleck answer from one of them.

"Cho, you wouldn't," Juli said, staring at her. "You wouldn't." she said again, realizing that Cho might not actually be kidding.

"Oh, I would," she said, tapping her foot and glaring at Juli. Usually Cho and Juli were on good terms, but the fights between her and Malfoy must have really hit a nerve. "Now, will you agree to not argue while we're here in these rooms?"

"I'll behave if he does," Juli said, now looking at Malfoy. She wasn't glaring at him, just expecting him to agree. She didn't want to have to plead with him.

"Alright," he said, as if he had no other choice. "But outside of this room I'm not playing nice," he added.

"I wouldn't expect you to," said Juli, almost regretting it. She looked at Cho, and she seemed satisfied, so Juli sat down on a large pillow resting on the floor.

"What about a name?" said Peter, who had quietly walked over and laid down on a floor next to Juli.

"You said you had some ideas, Malfoy?" Cho finished. Peter did not seem to be the speaking type.

"Something with our initials, maybe an acronym," he said, sitting down in a chair near where Peter and Juli were seated.

Cho sighed with relief and sat down too. "Or maybe something about the houses?" she said. "I mean, since the whole point of this band is to promote inter-house unity, isn't it?"

"You think so, Chang?" said Malfoy, in his usual cold tone. "Or maybe it's just a bunch of lies trying to cover up the truth?"

"What truth?" interjected Peter.

"We're about to be in a wizarding war," Draco replied. "But,--"

"Didn't need You-Know-Who on Veritaserum to tell us that," Juli said sarcastically as Cho gave her a silencing look. Juli held up her hands and apologized. "Sorry..." she said.

"What if we were called 'Veritaserum'?" interjected Peter, who had been quiet the entire time. "People know what it is, and it makes sense," he sat up as the older students stared at him agape. "I mean," he cleared his throat nervously. "Neither of you want to be here with each other," he motioned to Juli and Draco, "and so the only _true_ reason you're here is because of the music." He shrugged and slouched back down onto the pillow he had been sitting on.

"That sounds like a good idea to me. I mean," she stopped and turned to Malfoy. "Unless, ahem, _Mr. Malfoy_ here has a better idea?" Cho said sarcastically.

"Well," he said, and then looked at Juli. She looked up into his cold grey eyes, and for half a second she felt like she was looking into the eyes of her brother. For a moment there was a hint of green in his eyes, a sign of life and compassion. She blinked and the cold grey eyes she had learned to hate were staring into her own. It was almost as if he was trying to get inside her head; trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"Well what?" asked Cho.

"It's better than nothing," he said, only after rolling his eyes.

"Right," Cho said, a little puzzled. "Okay, so now we have to pick a singer," she poked Malfoy to get his attention and he gave her a dirty look.

"Not me," said Peter, who Juli noticed was very quiet. "I can't hit a single note."

"Me either," said Cho. "So hopefully one of you guys can sing." She looked from Juli to Malfoy and then stood up. "Let's hear it then," she said, standing above them with her hand on her hip.

"What? You're out of your bloody mind!" said Malfoy as he stood up. "You want me to sing you a song?"

"I'll do it," said Juli. "I'll sing for you," she shrugged and carefully took her new guitar. She had been singing at the orphanage's Christmas parties ever since she could remember and once or twice a week she sang at the church down the road during the summer.

"Okay, then," said Malfoy, sitting down again.

Juli started plucking the strings, and was going to start to tune them when she figured out that they were already perfectly in tune. Then she realized that she had no idea which song to sing. "Okay then," she said and started singing the first song that came into her head.

"_Oh and I don't know,_

_I don't know what he's after._

_But he's so beautiful,_

_He's such a beautiful disaster._

_And if I could hold on,_

_Through the tears and the laughter_

_Would it be beautiful,_

_Or just a beautiful disaster?_"

Juli got up and put her guitar safely back onto its rack. She turned back to look at the group, who were quiet. Cho was staring at Juli and Peter had his jaw open, as if he was completely shocked by Juli's performance. Malfoy was just sitting there, obviously thinking about her choice of song.

"Juli," said Cho as she got up. "You're brilliant, I mean," she got up and put her hand to her head. "Malfoy, do you have any objections to make? 'Cause, if you don't, well," she turned around to look at him. "I think Juli should get the job," Cho then turned to Peter and he nodded.

Malfoy gave a heavy theatrical sigh. "Oh, I guess you're alright," Juli smiled to herself, knowing his compliments, however vague and distant, were very few and far between. "Besides," he said, seemingly uncomfortable at the fact that he had made Juli so happy. "I don't want to sing anyway," he mumbled as Cho and Juli squealed and hugged each other.

They all began practicing, testing out their new instruments. It didn't take Juli too long to realize that she had problems hearing because of Peter's drumming. She soon found a three pairs of headphones; one blue, one green and one red next to a guitar rack that was sitting next to a red door. She shrugged, satisfied, and walked over to Cho, handing her the blue headphones. Cho smiled and nodded, then pointed up to the clock.

Juli looked up at the clock and was shocked. She had five minutes until the start of her next class; Potions with Snape and the Slytherins. Juli nodded and walked over towards Malfoy to give him the headphones while Cho went over to Peter to let him know the time.

"Here are some headphones," Juli said once she had reached him, after watching him play for a few moments. "And, uh, just to let you know," she said, after he had grabbed the headphones rather hastily. "We've got Potions in a few minutes," she said, shrugging. She walked away from him and put her own red headphones on the guitar stand. She slung her bag over her shoulder and waved bye to Cho and Peter as Malfoy walked out the door.

"I'm going to probably be down here during dinner, if you guys want to come down and figure out when our next rehearsal should be," she said to Cho and Peter before following Malfoy out the door.

"Hey, Malfoy," she called after him while she ran to catch up to him. He turned around to see who was calling her name and then rolled his eyes at her.

"What did you want, Michaelson?" he said nastily as he began walking again.

"There's more to me than you think there is," she said quietly. "I just wanted to say thanks," she said as they approached the Potions classroom. "For, you know," she was trying to find the right words. "For agreeing to be nice, during rehearsal," she said uncomfortably. "You can go back to ignoring and insulting me while we're out here, if you'd like," she said as Harry, Hermione and Ron were walking up to them. "Unless that's too difficult for you?"

Malfoy just walked into the classroom, but Juli could have sworn that he muttered, "You're welcome," just before he was out of earshot.


	7. Baseball

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters, although I created Julianne Michaelson and any other characters not part of the original Harry Potter 'cast'.

Chapter 7: Baseball

"Bloody hell," said Ron with a grin as they walked out of the castle and onto the grounds of Hogwarts. Juli had just told them about the new Hogwarts band that would be playing at the Masquerade Ball during the Christmas holidays and they were all ecstatic. "That's brilliant, Juli!"

"Yeah, Juli, that's so cool. I can't wait for it!" exclaimed Hermione, who nearly had fallen off the bench she was sitting on next to an old oak tree.

"You're so amazing," said Harry, giving her a hug. "I can't wait to hear you play," he added, smiling.

"Just remember you can't tell anyone, okay? I don't want one of you guys to end up ruining the surprise," she added carefully. "I don't think you'll tell, but you know how secrets are around Hogwarts."

"Not kept, that's how they are," said Hermione, but Ron was already babbling away.

"I can't wait 'till you get rich and famous!" said Ron, grinning. "Just think about it ... You'll ... you'll be richer than Harry!" Harry, Hermione and Juli all burst into laughter.

"Don't get too far ahead of me, there, Ron," Juli said after she calmed down. "Who knows if we're even any good? And with Malfoy in the band --"

"**MALFOY!**" Harry, Ron and Hermione interjected all at once.

"Er ... yeah," said Juli. "He's not terrible either, I've seen him play, because I know you'd like to think he's got no talent at all," she added, playing with her ponytail. "But, who cares? It's not like I'm going to be spending all my time with him just because we're in the same band," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Speak of the devil," said Hermione, rubbing her forehead and twirling her fingers around a strand of her hair. The group turned and saw three Slytherins walking their way.

"Ah, you think it's smart to be walking out on the ground alone, Potty?" Malfoy said as he approached. "With the Death Eaters out of Azkaban and all," he said, smirking. "You might want to be a bit more careful, hanging around with Mudbloods and a Weasel."

As he finished his sentence, Ron jumped up and started to walk towards Malfoy, his ears flaming red, though they no longer matched the color of his hair. "You filthy, slimy---" was all Ron managed to get out before Harry jumped up and kept him from hitting Malfoy.

"Ron, not now," Harry said, restraining Ron. "Don't do this here."

"Where do you get off insulting two of the best students in the school?" Ron continued as if he hadn't even heard Harry. "You son of a --"

"C'mon Ron, he's not worth our time. Let's go visit Hagrid," Hermione said, tugging on Ron's sleeve and Harry let Ron go, leaving Hermione free to drag him down to Hagrid's hut. Ron glared in the direction of the Slytherins before turning around and going with Hermione.

"Hagrid? That idiot wouldn't know what a bludger was even if it hit him in his giant head," said Malfoy, laughing with his goons.

"And you wouldn't know what a baseball bat was even if I smacked you with it," Juli said angrily. He could insult her as much as she wanted, but he had crossed the line with insulting a professor. "Let's go, Harry," she said, taking his hand and turning to leave.

"And what would an orphaned Mudblood know about American sports?" Malfoy said as Juli spun around and smacked him hard across the face before Harry could even lay a hand on him.

"Strike one," Juli whispered as she stepped closer to Malfoy. "Wouldn't want to get three if I were you," she said, and then turned around to walk down with Harry to Hagrid's hut. "And," she said turning around. "Your insults today are just not up to par. Wouldn't want to waste your talent if I were you."

"Why hello, Harry," Hagrid said as they approached his hut. He looked as big and hairy as ever, but still had a large, giant-sized grin on his face. Juli hadn't been inside his hut before, and was looking around. '_It's a little small, but cozy none-the-less,_' she thought.

"Bin wonderin' when yeh'd show up," Hagrid said and then turned to Juli. "Welcome, Julianne ... er, would yeh like some tea?"

"That'd be wonderful, Professor, thanks," she said, smiling. He was much nicer than he had ever seemed during his lessons, but Juli supposed it was because he was in his home now, after all, she was much more comfortable in her room at the orphanage than in a dungeon learning potions.

"It's Hagrid, Julianne," he said, handing her a cup of tea. "Anyways," he continued. "Ron says you made it into Hogwarts' band," he said smiling to Juli. "Congratulations."

"Er ... yeah, thanks." said Juli almost glaring at Ron. He and Hermione couldn't have arrived at Hagrid's more than two minutes before Harry and herself did, and he'd managed to tell Hagrid about it even so. "Ron's very excited for me, I see," she winked at Ron, who blushed profusely.

"He's allowed to be excited, right?" Hermione said as she set the cups of tea down to serve for herself and Hagrid. "We're all excited for you," she said as she poured the tea and sat down.

"What? We don't get any tea?" Harry exclaimed sarcastically as Juli and Hermione sipped their cups.

"You didn't get any because you never want any," said Hermione, on the brink of giggles.

"She's got you there, mate," said Ron. "Though I think I would fancy a firewhiskey---"

"**RON!**" exclaimed Hermione; Juli, Harry and Hagrid just laughed. Hermione rambled off on how he _wasn't allowed_, but Juli was thinking something else.

"But even if you were allowed, there's no way you could get any, is there?" she raised her eyebrows as if she knew something they didn't and took a sip of tea. She saw through the corner of her eye Harry and Ron glancing nervously at each other and continued, "I mean, it's not like you could smuggle some into Hogwarts, McGonagall would know. I know, I've tried--"

"WHAT?" Hermione squealed and spilt her tea on her cloak.

"Jeez, Hermione, calm down ... I'm only teasing," Juli said and with a simple spell cleaned Hermione's cloak of the tea.

"Hmmm," said Harry. "Still, did you ever hang out with Fred and George? Or maybe---"

"I think it's time we got back up to the castle," said Hermione. "Lunch will have been served already, and after that I've got Arithmancy. Thanks for tea, Hagrid," she said, smiling, grabbing Juli's empty tea cup as well as her own and putting it near the sink. "We'll stop by again sometime soon."

"Right," said Hagrid, standing up. The four students walked out of the gamekeeper's hut towards the castle. "See yeh tomorrow in class!" he yelled after them.

"What was that?" asked Juli after they'd gotten out of earshot.

"What was what?" replied Ron. "I've always wanted to try --"

"No, not that. Do you guys have a way to get around without being caught or something? I saw the look you two gave each other after I said there was no way we could get a bottle of firewhiskey," she asked seriously, and stopped.

"Er ... not now," said Ron as they stepped into the Great Hall. "Later."

"Okay," said Juli. The four of them sat down at an empty space at the Gryffindor table, but Juli soon found she wasn't very hungry. Being back inside of the school reminded her that there was a dungeon down some stairs that would be very nice to visit right now.

"We've got the rest of the day off, Juli," said Ron, with half a sandwich in his mouth. "D'you want to go learn how to fly?"

"After lunch? Won't I get sick?" Juli asked apprehensively. "I don't need to get sick," she said, smiling tentatively.

"Nah, I think you can handle it," he said. "Don't you think so, Harry?"

"Yeah, I think so," Harry replied, looking at Juli from across the table.

"Brilliant!" she exclaimed, excited for her very first flying lesson. "I can't wait," she said, smiling, munching on a cookie.

"Well, don't go about breaking anything," said Hermione, gathering her books. "I'm off to Arithmancy, I'll see you at dinner," she said as she gracefully carried her heavy books across the Great Hall, stopping at the Ravenclaw table to wait for Padma Patil.

"Hermione doesn't have much faith in us, does she?" asked Juli, now eating a turkey sandwich. Now that she was eating, she realized she was hungrier than she thought.

"No, she doesn't really," said Ron, pausing to decide what to eat next. "Not when it comes to breaking things. I mean, it's not like we're Fred and George," he said casually, picking up a chocolate frog.

"Not quite," Juli said, smiling. "So, since I'm going to learn to fly, why not learn Quidditch too? It's not hard, is it?" she asked Harry.

"No, it isn't really. My job's the hardest. Finding the tiny golden ball and catching it before the other team. The easiest part is flying away from the Bludgers. Even easier if you've got a bat."

"Sounds kind of like baseball," she said, smiling and Harry nodded. "Ready to go?" she asked as she stood up and smoothed her robes. "Oh, d'you think I'll need a sweater or something? I can run up to the Tower really quick before we go out."

"Nah," said Harry, unfastening his robe. "I think you'll be alright. If you get chilly you can put your robe back on, but I don't think you'll need it," she smiled, and Harry smiled back. '_Ah, home at last,_' he thought to himself as they walked out onto the pitch and began Juli's first flying lesson.


	8. Beaten

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters, although I created Julianne Michaelson and any other characters not part of the original Harry Potter 'cast'.

Chapter 8: Beaten

"It's so amazing here," said Juli as she and Harry were gliding high above the Quidditch field on his broom. Harry and Ron decided that it would be best if Juli rode along with one of them to get a feel for it, and the other would fly below them to catch her if she fell. "How do you concentrate on the game when you're flying? I don't think I could ever do it. It's too beautiful up here, looking over the grounds, and everything..." she trailed off as Harry slowly descended to the field.

"It's not hard when everyone's yelling and screaming and you have to catch the snitch," Harry said, helping her off. "You know how loud it gets," he said, and Ron laughed.

"Yeah, I think I lost a bit of my hearing after that first game last year," he said. "Though that might have been because of the Slytherins," Ron added, his face dropping.

"Oh, come off it, Ron, they're just Slytherins," said Juli. "I don't know how everyone can sit in the stands just screaming the whole time," she said, shaking her head, trying to her hair back into a ponytail.

"What do you mean, aren't you there with them?" asked Harry.

"No, not usually," both Harry and Ron's faces dropped when she said this. "I don't know much about Quidditch and it's a nice time to work in the library alone, that's all," she smiled. "Can I fly on my own this time, Harry? I think I can do it," she added, still smiling.

"Sure, I guess," said Harry, still flabbergasted by her statement about not watching the Quidditch matches. "Just be careful, it's getting a bit windy." He handed her his broom and she quickly took off, flying high and winding around the goal posts.

"She's pretty good, don't you think?" said Ron as they watched her. "She'd probably be a good chaser, eh?"

"Ron, we don't need chasers, Ginny, Katie and Stephanie are going to do a great job. What we need are beaters ..." he said, trailing off, looking up to where Juli was flying.

"What, a girl beater? I don't think she'll be strong enough," argued Ron. "We've already got two; Kirke and Sloper aren't that bad."

"Yeah, right," said Harry sarcastically. "Didn't Kirke say he was only going to play for a year, though?" Harry watched as Juli dived down sharply and pulled out a few meters away from them.

"Harry, she can't! There's no way she's strong enough to hit the Bludgers hard enough to do any damage, anyway."

"Woah," said Juli as she stepped off of the broom. "I need to get me one of these," she joked as she handed Harry his broom. "It's fantastic," she smiled. "What can't I do, now, Ron?"

"What?" he said, taken aback by her sudden statement.

"He says you aren't strong enough to be a beater," Harry said seriously. "But I think we should see who's right." Harry looked over towards the cupboard next to the stands that were near them. "Maybe we ought to make a bet?" Harry grinned.

"Alright, mate, if she hits it over-" Ron looked around. "If she hits it past the goal posts then you win, and if she doesn't, I do. Fair?"

"All right. Juli, er ... would you go get the box with the Quidditch equipment in it?" Harry asked, and then winked at her. "They're just over there in the cupboard." He pointed towards two large wooden doors with brass handles with two brooms engraved onto the doors.

"Okay," she said looking over towards the place where Harry pointed. "If I can't find it, I'll yell for you. I'll be right back," she said, rolling her eyes. "Boys."

"Okay, what do we have to do if we lose?" asked Ron.

"I don't know," said Harry, and then had a sudden idea. "But er ... okay. You have to ask Hermione to the dance if she can do it."

"What!" Ron almost screamed. "I can't ask her ... what if she freaks out or something? I mean--"

"You don't want to go alone do you? It's either you ask her to the dance or you have to kiss her," Harry raised his eyebrows at Ron, knowing he wouldn't refuse.

"Alright, fine. But if you lose, you'll have to ask Juli," Ron suggested. "You know you won't have the gut otherwise, mate."

"You could be a little more creative, Ron," Harry said. He'd already been planning to ask Juli, and thought it might be fun to do something a little more exciting.

"Don't try to get out of it now, Har. No going back?"

"Alright. Guess Juli found the Quidditch stuff alright," he grinned as Juli came out of the equipment cupboard, carrying a large crate with the Hogwarts crest on it. She walked up to the two boys, nearly starting to sweat, and put the large, extremely heavy crate at their feet.

"You know," she said, panting. She leaned down with her hands on her knees, which were slightly bent, looking at the ground. "At the orphanage, the boys help the girls when they're carrying heavy things," she smiled and looked up at the two boys, who both looked extremely guilty.

"Sorry," said Ron. "Ready to give Beating a go?"

.:-----:.

Harry elbowed Ron in the side as Hermione approached them at breakfast the next day. Juli tried to keep a straight face as Hermione sat down.

"So, how did the flying lesson go?" Hermione asked.

"It went great. Harry and Ron even taught me how to play Quidditch," Juli said, smiling. "Ron says I'm a pretty good Beater, right Ron?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, mumbling while stuffing his mouth with as much food as he could possibly fit.

"Oh, yeah, Harry, didn't you have to talk with Professor Lipton today?" Juli asked.

"Hmm? Oh yeah," he said, after Juli made exaggerated movements towards Ron and then Hermione. Hermione had her back turned and didn't see but Ron almost violently protested. "I'd forgotten."

"Well…?"

"I guess I should go, then?" Hermione turned around and nodded goodbye while Ron looked as though he was going to lose the entire meal he'd just swallowed.

"I'll, er… go with you," Juli said, looking from Hermione to Ron. "I've got to stop at Dumbledore's office on the way."

"But Professor Dumbledore's office is…" Ron interjected, obviously uncomfortable with the situation.

"See you guys later," Juli said and winked at Ron as she and Harry walked out of the Great Hall, bursting into laughter as they reached the Quidditch pitch.


	9. Getting There

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters, although I created Julianne Michaelson and any other characters not part of the original Harry Potter 'cast'.

Author's Note: Song Lyrics are to Evanesence's _Taking Over Me._

Chapter 9: Getting There

It had been a month since the first rehearsal of the secret Hogwarts band, 'Veritaserum'. Juli and Malfoy still weren't getting along outside of class, but Cho's rule for 'playing nice' seemed to have been generally accepted during rehearsals.

It was after dinner one night when Juli walked into the dungeon they'd been using for rehearsal, and was pleasantly surprised to find that no one was there. She walked into her private practice room and pulled off her robe and set it on the chair. The red walls made the room look small, but Juli soon found that it was a lot bigger than it looked. She pulled off her shoes and looked at her new stereo system that she'd requested, along with her collection of CDs that she had sent over from the orphanage. She picked up the cases and looked through them, noticing a few new ones. "Goo Goo Dolls, No Doubt," she said, sorting through them. "They must have been expecting me," she grinned and laughed to herself. "And ... these aren't mine--" she said, looking though a collection of wizarding bands whose names she recognized. "Why did Dumbledore put these in here?"

"Not Dumbledore," said a voice and Juli jumped around, dropping her things. Draco Malfoy was standing in her doorway.

"Damn it, Malfoy," she said, taking a deep breath and bending down to pick up her things.

"Didn't know you were so jumpy, Michaelson," he said, still standing in the doorway and not bothering to help her pick up the discs. "I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be braver than that."

"And since when did you become an expert on Gryffindors?" she asked standing up with most of the discs in her hand and setting those onto a table. "Last I heard you were learning _so_ much about the Ravenclaws."

"Since you became an expert on Slytherins," he replied, his voice calm as he stared her down. "In first year, of course."

"Right. Now, I'd like some privacy. This is my room, you know," she said, her patience drawing thin.

"Oh, I think not," he said, walking around her room. "I think I'll have to listen to these first," he said picking up the CDs she had set on the table, still very calm, and walked out of her room.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, storming after him. "You can't just take my things like that," she said, following him into his room.

"I think I did just take them, Michaelson," he said, and she was momentarily stunned by the sound system hooked up in his room. '_Not like he knows how to work it,_' she thought.

"Let's try the Goo Goo Dolls, shall we? Sound like a bunch of pansies to me," said Malfoy, opening the case and inserting the disc into the player.

"You'd be surprised how much Muggles know about music, Malfoy," she said, crossing her arms, and glaring at him.

"Oh, stop being so cranky, Michaelson," he said, turning the music up. "You're much more acceptable to associate with when you behave." He sat down in his chair and propped his legs up as he rested his head on his arms.

"Acceptable? Did you hit your head when you fell off that high and mighty rock you think you stand on?" She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair in disbelief. "How old are you now, sixteen? Because you still act like you're the same old cheeky eleven year old spoiled _rat _who pushed me into the mud in first year. You're just a spoiled little rich boy and you'll **ALWAYS BE** the spoiled little rich boy who everyone is afraid of. But let me tell you something right now _Draco_, I'll never be afraid of you because deep down I know you're just a pathetic little man who doesn't deserve anything he's got."

She stormed out of the room and out of the dungeon, fuming. She didn't realize where she had been going until she got to Professor Dumbledore's office and stopped. Not knowing why she was there, she let out a deep breath as she headed back towards the Gryffindor common room.

.:-----:.

"I believe in you / I'll give up everything / Just to find you / I have to be with you / To live to breathe / You're taking over me---" Juli abruptly stopped singing as she realized that someone had sat down on the other end of the couch she had been lying on. Draco Malfoy was sitting next to her, smiling.

"I didn't know anyone else was here," she said, a little irritated, as she pulled off her headphones.

"You're up late," he remarked, playing with her shoelace.

"What do you want?" she asked, pulling her shoes away from his reach.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at her.

"You're not," she replied, standing up and wrapping the cords of her headphones around her disc-man.

"You don't even know what for."

"I don't care," she said, walking into her room, away from him. "You don't mean it. Malfoys never apologize for anything. That must be in your '_Malfoy Family Codes of Conduct_' or something."

"Actually it's the '_Malfoy Family Rules and Regulations_' rule number fifty-seven. But I don't care." Draco followed her and leaned against her doorframe.

Juli almost had to laugh. "Aren't you scared of what Daddy Malfoy the Death Eater might think?" she asked almost mockingly.

"I suppose I deserve that."

"Of course you do." She sat down on her chair and busied herself by organizing her music collection.

"I'm sorry for pushing you into the mud in first year," he said after a few moments of silence.

She looked up at him, standing in the doorway; his hair a little messy, his tie undone. Somehow during their conversations he always ended up standing in her doorway, leaning against the doorframe. Today he looked like he hadn't gotten sleep in a few days, or as close to that as he possibly could. Juli had to laugh. "I don't know if I can accept that apology of yours." she said, grabbing her cloak and exiting the room, pushing past him towards the dungeon door. As she looked back at him from the dungeon doorway she said, "But I'm getting there."

.:-----:.

"Michaelson," said Malfoy, standing next to the couch where he had found Juli singing a few days earlier. She'd obviously fallen asleep next to the fire, and was curled up in a little ball, her hand around her guitar. "Michaelson," he said a little louder, trying to get her to wake up. He hastily took her guitar from her and levitated it onto its stand in her room.

He walked back over to her and saw that she shivered despite the fact she was laying near the fire. He went to go grab a blanket for her from his room, but he heard her say something.

"No, no, don't!" she was mumbling. "Don't kill him, Draco!" she whispered, but to him she had nearly yelled it across the room as he dropped the blankets he was holding and ran next to her on the couch. "Please, don't leave me alone! Don't kill--" Draco realized she wasn't shivering; she was shaking and she had tears running down her face.

"What? Juli," he said, kneeling in front of her. He momentarily forgot that he hated her, that she was a Mudblood. All he thought about was waking her up. "Juli, wake up! Damn it, Juli!" He shook her shoulder and she violently grabbed his wrist. He'd obviously woken her up.

"What's going on?" she asked, sitting up as she let go of his arm. She tried to steady her breathing as she realized what _was_ going on.

"You were shaking, having a nightmare of some sort," he said, trying to defend his actions. "Are you alright?" He was nothing if not a gentleman when it was required of him.

"I, I think so," she stammered. "What did you do to me?"

He stood up suddenly and went towards the door.

"Wait, Malfoy," she said, standing up, rubbing her arms trying to keep warm. "Please, Draco, I'm sorry, I didn't--" she pleaded and he stopped in front of the door. "Please don't leave me alone."

He turned around and looked into her grey-blue eyes. He remembered the first time he had ever seen them, remembered that he had never seen anything like them except for when he looked into the mirror. He looked outside of the door as he tried to decide what he should do; he didn't want to leave her there, but he couldn't stay. As he stood there, she crumpled back down onto the couch and began crying. Looking down at the floor, and looking as though he had been forced into doing it, he shut the door quietly and walked back to the couch where she was sitting. "Accio," he said lazily as he pointed his wand towards the blankets he had dropped and sat next to Juli on the couch. The last thing she remembered was Draco holding her and brushing his hand through her hair as she fell asleep.

.:-----:.

When Juli woke up the next morning, Draco was gone. She mentally thanked him but was confused as to why he had come in the first place. She dismissed the thought as she straightened her clothes and brushed her hair. Smiling, she walked out of the dungeon and through the castle; it was brightly lit with the morning sunlight and Juli couldn't help but think it would turn out to be the perfect day. She was in a good mood as she trudged up the steps to the Fat Lady and muttered the password ('_skrewt_'). Unfortunately, she did not find anything close to perfect when she walked through the portrait hole.


	10. Emotion

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters, although I created Julianne Michaelson and any other characters not part of the original Harry Potter 'cast'.

Chapter 10: Emotion

"Stop messing with my girl, Harry!"

Juli walked into the common room and nearly jumped from the shock. Harry and Seamus were standing in the middle of the room, arguing.

"Are you bloody insane? She's not your girl anymore, Seamus, don't you get it?" said Harry, almost yelling. "Remember, _you_ broke up with _her_."

"But that doesn't mean you can just come in and take her to Hogsmeade on some kind of date! Juli is my girl, I loved her first!"

"Seamus! You broke her heart!"

"Only because I thought it was best! I loved her!"

"Excuse me? Since when is cheating on your girlfriend loving her? You'd been sleeping with Ceclia for months before you broke it off with Juli! I don't see where you get off telling me that you loved her." Harry retorted, and Juli stood up, clasping her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide. It took a moment for Seamus and Harry to realize she was there.

"You cheated on me?" she said, trying to keep her voice calm as the boys had stared at her. "You cheated on me with some Slytherin whore?"

"What? Juli? How'd you get here?" asked Seamus, confused.

"You cheated on me?" Juli said in disbelief, her temper rising as she walked toward Seamus. "With a _SLYTHERIN_?"

"Juli, no, I--" he said, trying to defend himself, but Juli interrupted him.

"YOU LYING, CHEATING BASTARD!" she said, smacking him across the face. "You break up with me because you want to shag some Slytherin?" she said, pushing him back.

"Juli, love, we never --" he stammered, clutching his cheek. "Angel, I never meant--"

"Don't you **ever **call me that again!" she yelled, really getting riled up. Harry heard the click of a door and looked up to see nearly the whole house walk out of their dormitory rooms to see what was going on.

"Juli, I think maybe we should--" started Harry, realizing it might be a good idea to get Juli away from Seamus before she started making more of a scene.

"What is _wrong_ with you, Seamus?" she said very angrily, completely ignoring Harry. "I **_LOVED_** you," she said, her eyes starting to well up with tears, while Harry tried (and failed) to talk to her again.

"Juli, please, calm down," he said, stepping in front of her as she started to cry. "Please, don't do this to yourself," he pleaded.

"No, Harry," she said, finally diverting her attention to him and looking him in the eye. "I didn't do this to myself," she said, moving away from him and towards Seamus again. "This one did it to me," she said, slapping him across the face again as she started up the stairs to the girls dormitory.

"Please, angel, Juli, let me explain!" Seamus pleaded, as Juli pushed through the crowd that had gathered and stopped in front of her door, turning around to glare at Seamus before turning back to open the door.

"Don't ever, EVER speak to me again," she said, turning to look at him with tears streaming down her face. "Even Draco - bloody - Malfoy treats be better than this," she said before she walked into the room and slammed the door.

.:-----:.

Thirty minutes later, Juli came down the stairs wearing a black hooded sweater and jeans. Her hair was still damp from her shower and she hadn't put any makeup on or styled her hair, and her eyes were red. Harry looked up from his seat on a couch as she slumped onto the seat next to his. He wanted to kiss her; kiss her to make up for the love she'd lost over Seamus and to undo the pain he'd caused her. Instead, he reached out to her.

"Come here," he said softly, motioning to her to sit with him. She glanced at him and then turned her eyes back to their previous spot on the floor. "I just want to help," he added, sensing her suspicion.

She looked up at him, wondering if he had other intentions other than those as her friend. Looking into his eyes, she saw something she recognized; sympathy. Everyone had given her that look after learning she was an orphan, and even more so after Kevin died. '_Why does everyone pity me?_' she thought, not realizing she was a little irritated at Harry.

"Why do you think I need help?" she sputtered. "I'm not an invalid, Harry."

He was taken aback. "I know you're not, Juli," he said, leaning back away from her with a puzzled look on his face. "I'm just trying to help and I thought--"

"You thought what?" she said huffily, offended. "That I'm just a _poor-little-orphaned_ girl who needs your sympathy? Just because I never knew my parents and lost my only brother doesn't mean I need someone else's pity on how badly my life has turned out so far. I've done just fine by myself, and just because Seamus broke my heart and wanted some Slytherin whore over me doesn't mean my life is over. He doesn't know what he's missing out on, he just doesn't. So what if I loved him? I can't just---" She stopped, realizing Harry's hands was holding her own. She was speechless.

"I know it's hard, Juli," he said, smiling sorrowfully as she stared at him blankly. "Believe me, I know, remember?" he said as he thought about how the past summer had been; lonely and long at Grimmauld Place without Sirius. He had often cursed himself for being so gullible and a few times cursing Dumbledore for keeping the prophecy a secret for such a long time. He mostly just blamed Voldemort, for killing his parents, and for ultimately killing Sirius.

"But why?" Juli asked as she looked up at Harry, exhaling heavily. "Why---" she said, pausing, as she realized Harry had lost his parents and a close relative too. "Why us?" she asked.

"I wish I knew, Juli. I wish I knew," he said, stroking her hair softly as she leaned into his chest. They sat there for some time, just hugging each other, and as Juli was reminded of her episode with Malfoy the night before, Harry had somewhat of an epiphany and spoke up.

"I have an idea that might cheer you up," he said, helping her sit up. "Wait right here," he smiled and ran up the staircase to the boys' dormitories, leaving Juli alone for a few moments to think to herself.

Juli sighed heavily and ran her hands through her hair. "Better, but not best," she said softly out loud to herself. She sighed again as she heard Harry running back down the stairs and she turned around to see him step off the last stair with a blanket in his arms.

"Come with me, I have something to show you," he said, grinning and grabbing her hand, pulling her off of the couch and through the portrait hole and through the castle.

Author's Note: Now we have reached the part where I have decided to totally take the story into a different direction. Juli is no longer on the Quidditch team, as that was screaming "_Mary Sue! Mary Sue!_ " and even though there's the whole extra thing with Malfoy which seems very un-canon, I have surprises coming up. I want to finish this story before HBP comes out, so I'm going to try and write as much as possible. Reviews make the world go round, so make my day, please! It only takes a minute and I'd love to hear anything, the good and the bad.

xbriannex


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